COM 2150- Intercultural Communication

Service-Learning Paper

Community Partner: For my service learning project I organized with Shelly Erickson of

Project Share an opportunity to volunteer. Her contact information is listed below:

Shelly Erickson
Project Share Founder
Payson, Utah
Phone: 801-462-6880

Project: For my service I sorted clothing for donation to individuals and families in need. My

initial plan was to drive to Mrs. Ericksons house where she has clothes that have been donated

to her private organization and sort them into categories so they can be organized into care

packages and delivered to families in Utah. My start date for this service was Wednesday the

20th, and I continued arriving to do this service most Wednesdays at approximately 3:00PM-

6:00PM until my service hours were completed. Hours of service varied week by week, and any

changes to my schedule or services were recorded in my field notes.

Culture Group: People of any race or religion, who are low income or unemployed and

homeless. Families with young children and senior citizens are the most common beneficiaries.

Shelly Ericson herself is someone who lives in near poverty and is disabled.

Challenges: Project Share provides immediate emergency assistance to low income individuals

and families on a case by case basis. Many of the people who benefit are too poor to afford DI,

and may not be in a position to ask for government assistance. One of the challenges with this

service is that the people being helped are in a crisis situation and need immediate help with food

and clothing, a painful and oftentimes humiliating position for them to be in.
Theory: Ill be analyzing my service learning experience through Value Orientation Theory

from the theories provided in our course packet (COMM 2150-Intercultural Communication

Theory Summary Grid, 2017). This theory was conceptualized by Kluckhohn & Strodbeck in

1961 and describes that, all human societies must answer a limited number of universal

problems, that the value-based solutions are limited in number and universally known, but that

different cultures have different preferences among them (Kluckhohn and Strodtbecks Values

Orientation Theory, 2002).

According to Kluckhohn and Strodbeck, cultures can be summarized by their attitudes

towards six ideals, each having opposing philosophies: Human Nature, Man to Nature,

Collective to Individual, Activity, and Time. All of these dimensions of culture can be described

as a scale; either end represent the most extreme opposites, with a moderate view in the middle,

and cultures can fall anywhere on each of these scales. Human Nature asks what the basic nature

of people is, whether they are inherently good, evil, or somewhere in between. If people are

considered basically evil, then they need to be controlled, and if they are basically good then they

are born good. Mixed responses mean that both good and evil people exist and that people can

change. Man to Nature asks what should be humanities relationship to the natural environment.

Subordination to nature means that life is determined by forces that we cannot control, while

domination of nature sees natural forces as challenges to overcome and control. The middle

ground here is harmony, living with nature and not against or under it. Collective to Individual

asks what is the best form of society. Hierarchical structures see a natural order in that there are

those made to lead and those made to follow. The individualistic approach sees all individuals as

equal members of society, each with control over their fate. A collateral structure is one that

values group decision making. Activity asks what people should be valued for doing. Cultures
with a doing attitude place an individuals worth on their accomplishments, while a being

attitude deems that every life is worthwhile regardless of personal achievement. Between these is

becoming, the thought that people are meant to find personal growth out of life. Lastly is Time

Sense, which asks what our attitude towards time is. Past oriented cultures value history and

traditions, while future oriented cultures focus on setting goals and making sacrifices today that

will pay off later. Present cultures value things in the moment. Examples of nations that can be

categorized by these six attributes are as follows:

Most studies of the dominant Euro-American culture in the United States find that it is

future oriented, focused on doing, emphasizes individualism, aspires to be dominant over

nature, and believes that human nature is mixed, some people are good and some are bad.

By contrast, most studies show that Native cultures are past oriented, focused on being,

emphasize collateral (group) relations, aspire to be in harmony with nature, and believe

that people are fundamentally good (The Value Orientations Method, 2001).

Analysis: I felt this theory had the best application to my service learning experience because it

describes our relationship to others in society based on the accepted rules of that society. In the

United States our perception of giving service and donating to the needy is colored by our

countries own positon on the Value Orientation scale. With my project, it can be viewed from

each of these points on the scale. When someone does a service out of the goodness of their own

heart and not for any personal gain, we think of them as being a good person (Human Nature).

We also view the people being helped in a mixed way; the effects of capitalism on our view of

the poor lead us to think that they must deserve their circumstance in some way, weather an

individual believes that can be true or not. The concept that clothes can exist in such a surplus as

to be donated, reused, and recycled also brings up a Man to Nature relationship, in that our
domination of nature gives some of us so much that we can afford to give some away.

Individualism is a primary characteristic of Americans, so although that means that most people

are looking out for their own interest, theres also a belief that people should all have equal rights

and opportunities. People donate their possessions not just because they have too much, but

because it allows others to have something that they need. Americans are also doers in that

they think if you work hard enough, that can make you BE enough. Shelly works incredibly

hard, and her efforts are greatly appreciated by the people she helps. Even so, she does it not for

the recognition but because she believes its the right thing to do. Lastly there is the concept of

Time, which is highly relevant to the structure of my service learning experience. From the

moment of the projects announcement, a tight parameter of at least fifteen hours of service was

set, and hours had to be recorded and verified for the purposes of grading. This is characteristic

of our future-oriented sense of time as Americans, in that setting dates and ranges of hours is

critical to how we organize our lives and activities.

Reflection:

How did you feel about this project at the beginning of the semester?
o What were your apprehensions and attitude towards service learning and working
with another culture?
o Did your apprehension and attitude change throughout the semester?
At the beginning of the semester I honestly felt a little bit of dread upon hearing about this

project. I am an introverted and socially anxious person, and that goes double for interacting in

unfamiliar social situations. Some of my apprehensions included talking with people who didnt

speak English very well and being misunderstood. Because of that I decided that I would not

participate in the ESL tutoring classes like some of my classmates and I would need to find a

culture that I could interact with that hopefully had more native English speakers. I dont know if
I became less apprehensive later in the semester, but I did find that unfamiliar situations become

a lot easier to deal with just by getting to know new people and seeing how nice they can be.

What did you learn about the culture that you were serving?
I had certain expectations about what the people who I was serving would be like, but I was most

surprised by Shelly Erickson herself. I would have thought that anyone who had the time and

resources to organize service work would have to be well-off financially themselves, but that

wasnt true in my experience. Shelly has given up so much time and money to her organization

that she hardly has enough left for herself. Every donation that she receives goes towards Project

Share and that has come at a sacrifice to her own comfort of living. Before I got to know Shelly I

expected that she would be like a lot of other organizations that take a portion of the proceeds for

themselves, but that is not the case at all here. She doesnt live above the people she serves; she

knows better than most their circumstances.

Did the application of theory help you understand your experience?

The application of my chosen theory did help me step back from the personal aspects of my

experience and see from a more objective standpoint. I liked looking at this project through one

of the perspectives we learned about in class.

What was your definition of civic engagement at the beginning of the semester? Has it
changed? Why/why not?
I think of civic engagement as being both open and aware of the inequalities of society, and

taking an active involvement in working to eliminate those inequalities. My definition of civic

engagement has not changed over the semester, but my relationship with it has. Its easy to think

of social issues as someone elses problem if youre not the one facing those issues. But society

is a system, and if any part of the system is failing, it affects all of us. The past couple years have
made it especially apparent to me that people simply do not care or want to hear of problems

unless they are being affected directly by them. Empathy is simply not always enough

motivation to care about others in a country full of people that are tired and barely able to take

care of themselves. So if empathy fails, then we have to take on a more collectivist mindset and

think of how a widespread lack of civic engagement will come back to bite us when we are the

ones in need.

How do you feel about the contribution that you made to your community through your
participation in the service-learning project?
o How did you benefit from your service?
o How did the people and/or organization that you served benefit from your
service?
I feel really proud of what I was able to accomplish. For me it was a good experience in

stretching myself and trying new things. It was also a good bonding experience for me and my

mom who helped me, because we were able to talk and work together during my service hours.

Interestingly, I think Shelly herself was most benefited by our service. The holidays are an

especially busy and hectic time for Project Share because its the height of donation season.

Because Shelly does so much for her organization, having help with dealing with the donated

clothes was a huge weight off her shoulders. Having our help helped her realize that she wanted

to focus her efforts on donating food only rather than food and clothing.

How can you incorporate what you learned in your service-learning project in future
classes, your career and in your life?
This project was a good reminder for me that the things you need are within your reach, you just

need to be the one to put your hands out for them. What I mean is that I initially felt a lot of

stress over this project because I thought it would be too taxing mentally and physically. But I

reached out, I asked for help, and I found a situation where everyone involved would benefit. I
found Shelly Ericksons foundation through my mom (they know each other through the

internet), so I could do my service learning with someone who wasnt a complete stranger. The

whole experience was a good reminder for me that theres a solution to every problem, and the

only way to get there is by keeping a calm mind and open heart to new experiences.

References:
Phillips, K. Tamra. (2017). COMM 2150-Intercultural Communication Theory Summary
Grid. COMM 2150 Intercultural Communication Course Packet. Page 41.

Hills, M. D. (2002). Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's Values Orientation Theory. Online

Readings in Psychology and Culture, 4(4). Retrieved December 8, 2017 from
https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1040

The Journal of Extension (JOE). The Value Orientations Method: A Tool to Help
Understand Cultural Differences. (December 2001). Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315.
Retrieved December 8, 2017 from https://www.joe.org/joe/2001december/tt1.php
Appendix: Service-Learning Verification of Hours and Field Notes Log
 Date Time Description
09/20/17 1 Hour Drove to Project Share and listened to the debriefing from Shelly. We
got the key to the building and met Shellys dogs. The building is next
to her house and blocked by a gate. Discussed our schedule and planned
to come every Wednesday for two to three hours to work.
1 Hour Picked up stray clothes off the floor and threw away any garbage we
came across. Removed stray hangers from the clothing racks and the
ground and organized hangers by type. Afternoon snack break.
1 Hour Began removing shabby and threadbare clothes from the racks. I took
care of the children and teens section of the racks while my mom
worked on the womens and mens section. Shellys husband came in to
see us. He is disabled and unable to work; I noticed a lift on the front of
the house that makes it so he doesnt have to take the stairs to the front
door. Finished up and drove home.
09/27/17 1 Hour Drove to Project Share and began spraying for spiders around the
building. We had noticed there was a bug problem with the building last
time and brought our own bug spray. Shelly wasnt there to greet us so
we were especially careful not to surprise the dogs with our presence.
1 Hour Removed more shabby clothes. At the time we usually take a snack
break we both had to use the restroom. We went inside Shellys house,
which was rather run down and dirty. A few of her foster sons were
inside the kitchen and we said hello to them.
1 Hour Began sorting baby clothes into tubs marked by age range and gender. I
asked my mom for advice on what clothes should be considered boys or
girls if they were more coded more ambiguously. Drove home.
10/04/17 1 Hour Drove to Project Share. There were new clothes that had been donated
sometime after our previous visit in bags in the garage. We began
sorting them and hanging them up.
1 Hour Sorted more baby clothes. After a discussion, we ended up putting
baby-sized socks in a tub full of the rest of the socks that had been
donated. Drove home.
11/01/17 1 Hour Drove to Project Share. Discussed change of plans with our service
hours; Shelly decided to refocus her efforts on the food donation aspect
of Project Share. The goal now was to take all the clothes we had been
sorting and donate them to D.I. in several huge batches.
1 Hour Loaded up the car with all of the childrens clothes to be donated to D.I.
The car we took is a Blazer with passenger seats in the back that can
fold down to increase the space in the back for hauling things. When we
finished, the back was full up to the ceiling.
1 Hour Drove to D.I. and unloaded the car full of clothes. We were helped by
several nice people who worked there; all of them happened to be men
in a large range of ages. Drove home.
11/03/17 1 Hour Drove to Project Share. Loaded up the car with most of the womens
shirts and pants to be donated to D.I. Two female teachers from a
nearby middle school came to pick out some clothes for their homeless
 students as part of a school initiative.
1 Hour We went to a nearby grocery store and bought some trash bags to put
donated baby clothes in for easier handling and loaded them in the car.
Drove to D.I. and unloaded the car full of clothes. We recognized some
of the people there from last time and said hello. Drove home.
11/08/17 1 Hour Drove to Project Share. Loaded up the car with any remaining clothes
and any newly donated clothes. We were helped by one of Shellys
adopted daughters. As we were finishing up Shelly joined us and told us
how grateful she was to have our help. She didnt have time to do all the
work by herself and was feeling overwhelmed, especially because it was
November and she was making preparations to donate turkey dinners to
needy families in the area. We thanked her for the opportunity she gave
us.
1 Hour Shellys husband came home and asked me to get the house keys from
Shelly. That was the first time I saw him use the lift in front of the
house. Finished up and drove to D.I. to unload the car full of clothes.
Drove home.